Did Portugal have the biggest fall-off in Colonial history?

B

bnew

Veteran
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Messages
53,531
Reputation
8,052
Daps
152,356
i tried looking for a transcript of a npr podcast episode I heard years ago.. it was essentially how Brazil as a former colony of Portugal had a larger population and a different version of Portuguese. portugal was trying to make their version of Portuguese the official internationally recognized version by the U.N I think.
 
Sinnerman

Sinnerman

Veteran
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
32,511
Reputation
4,431
Daps
64,633
If we're keeping it to Europe I'd agree with the poster who said Denmark. shyt, they had early colonies in parts of West Africa too

Tbh, the French/British were the European masters of colonialism the same way the Turks were the Muslim masters of colonialism. The rest of em seemed to have a pretty sharp fall off
 
Yehuda

Yehuda

Veteran
Supporter
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Messages
29,836
Reputation
10,574
Daps
121,072
goatmane said:
1580 - following the disappearance of the king in battle, Spain invades and claims the Portuguese throne, beginning the Iberian union that lasted until 1640.

The loss of independence in 1580 is relevant as it is a clear date when Portugal stopped being able to defend its colonies and started losing territory instead of expanding. Spain neglected the Portuguese colonies and used (read: lost) the Portuguese navy in its European wars. After the independence is re-established in 1640, many colonies are recovered, but the country largely missed out on the golden age of early settling and establishing trade posts and never becomes expansionist again.
Click to expand...

That's really what did them in, their king went missing trying to battle Moroccans, Spain took over and it all went downhill as far as their aspirations of becoming the Fifth Empire.
 
saturn7

saturn7

Politics is an EXCHANGE!!!
Joined
May 25, 2012
Messages
12,012
Reputation
2,710
Daps
58,507
Reppin
DMV Freedman
The final nail was when

Fidel-Castro-small.png


sent goons to Angola.
 
BaviKingVA

BaviKingVA

Live every day like it's your last
Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2019
Messages
997
Reputation
-510
Daps
2,918
goatmane said:
the prince of Portugalin 1522 choose to liberate Brazil from Portugal then went to invade Portugal later and became king before dying from TB... damn i aint know all that


What happened to Portugal? It was a world power with a naval presence, great explorers, and colonies around the world in the 1400s/1500s, but doesn't have the same stature now. - Quora

There are many dates that show the downfall of Portugal from grace. The main ones, in my opinion:

  • 1580 - following the disappearance of the king in battle, Spain invades and claims the Portuguese throne, beginning the Iberian union that lasted until 1640.
  • 1755 - as the Brazilian gold is starting to run out, a huge earthquake hits Lisbon - you can’t make this stuff up - the rich Imperial capital crashes down and burns, killing thousands and starting a huge crisis. The municipality of Ouro Preto where gold was found was the most populous city of Latin America, counting on about 40 thousand people in 1730 and, decades after, 80 thousand. At that time, the population of New York was less than half of that number of inhabitants and the population of São Paulo did not surpass 8 thousand
  • 1806 - Napoleonic wars, the entire royal court flees to Brasil, moving the Capital to Rio de Janeiro. The duke of Wellington comes to help repel the French, the war leaves Portugal devastated.
  • 1810–1910 - Portugal loses Brasil in 1822, is left economically devastated, declares bankruptcy multiple times, faces civil war and multiple rebellions.
  • 1910 - Republican revolution. the 1st republic lasts 16 years and has 45 different governments
    • 1916 - Portugal joins WW1, in a effort to keep its colonies, it works
  • 1926 - after a period of political assassinations and ungovernability, a new military-backed dictatorship begins.
  • 1961 - Beginning of African Colonial wars
  • 1974 - End of the dictatorship, Portugal formally (and chaotically) abandons all of its colonies at the same time (except Macau). The country starts becoming what it is today.
The loss of independence in 1580 is relevant as it is a clear date when Portugal stopped being able to defend its colonies and started losing territory instead of expanding. Spain neglected the Portuguese colonies and used (read: lost) the Portuguese navy in its European wars. After the independence is re-established in 1640, many colonies are recovered, but the country largely missed out on the golden age of early settling and establishing trade posts and never becomes expansionist again.

The key aspect though, is in the highlighted 1755. The Lisbon earthquake hits Lisbon right at the start of the industrial revolution, and Portugal misses out largely on this period, never really catching up with the rest of Europe.

During the XIX century, when France and Great Britain reached the peak of colonial expansion, Portugal was simply bankrupt. Without an industry and facing constant instability, Portugal managed no more than to keep its colonies, largely due to the diplomatic will of GB.

Finally, in the XX century, Portugal is stuck in a corner of Europe, poor and under developed, and managing a vast colonial empire that cannot really afford. The regime was super traditionalist and industrialisation was not a priority. It closes itself to the outside world and tries to keep its colonies at all costs, but could’t really pay for those costs and the economy in Portugal starts to deteriorate even more, while the rest of Europe was booming.

After the 1974 revolution the decision to drop all the colonies at once was not surprising. People just wanted the war to end and nobody could be fooled into believing they were “ours” anymore.

So this is story of how Portugal became this:
Click to expand...
you almost wanna feel bad for them... almost... nah...
 
King Kai

King Kai

ㅤ
Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
11,075
Reputation
5,809
Daps
62,553
fall off colonially, brehs :mjcry:

Considering the size of Portugal's country/population relative to how far they spread their influence is crazy. From Brazil to Macau.

The colonial fall off crown gotta go to one of the bigger empires that came tumbling down.
 
Last edited:
King Kai

King Kai

ㅤ
Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
11,075
Reputation
5,809
Daps
62,553
☑

☑︎#VoteDemocrat

The Original
Bushed
WOAT
Supporter
Hall of Shame
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
305,928
Reputation
-34,259
Daps
616,286
Reppin
The Deep State
Henri Christophe said:
Nah man, France never got out of the imperialism game.

Imperialism is France's life force... Subjugating the African is French culture.

Their identity, wealth, and status on the world stage comes from their legacy of subjugating the African and putting their feet up his ass.

I dont know how a country who imported 50,000 Africans per year is seen as some liberal nation of modern elegance.

nikkas talk about Trump but never mention the legendary white supremacist Rochambeau

Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau - Wikipedia

Rochambeau would hold events with the French elite during his time in Haiti where Africans would be tied to poles, impaled with swords. and eaten by dogs

Women & children drowned at sea for amusement.... Hung for laughs... Decapitated for fun.

The French put up big numbers for white supremacy and theyre still in Africa gettin rich, committing murder and robbery.
Click to expand...
nah, I'm saying France is basically the sleeper super power.

They got nukes, they not in NATO, they got HEAVY clout in Africa, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top